Leonard's a new man
by Wyrtha
Summary: Just my take on Leonard, not obsessed with Penny or staying attached to his horrible roommate forever.
1. Chapter 1 - The Breakup

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Big Bang Theory or know anyone affiliated with the show. Just a fan**

 **Chapter 1 - The Break Up**

Leonard was sitting with Penny in her apartment on her couch. He was trying to avoid what he knew was coming. Penny wanted to break up with him. She had been tried to break up with him for a couple of weeks now, but he always managed to stave off the impending break up. It helped that they always had sex right after she started to tell him, but the more she tried the less he was able to delude himself that she actually loved him and wanted to marry him and have his babies and grow old together.

"Leonard, we need to talk" Penny tells him.

"Okay"

Instead of doing what he had been doing which is look sad and pathetic and play on whatever feeling she did have for him he turned to her after putting his plate down and faced the music.

"I think we should break up" Penny says.

"Okay"

"Look I know that you love me and I know I said I love you, but this isn't working for me" Penny says.

"I hope we can still be friends" Penny tells him.

"Okay"

"Okay … that's it?" Penny questions.

"Yeah" Leonard responds.

Leonard packs up his food and prepares to leave.

"Wait Leonard, where you going?" Penny asks.

"It's late and Sheldon's been acting funny so I really should go" Leonard explains.

"Okay, but we're fine right?"

"Sure, I'll see you …" Leonard says as he opens the door and walks out.

Penny continues to look at the door not sure what happened exactly.

'He's not even going to wait for breakup sex?' She thought.

Meanwhile, across the hall.

"Oh Leonard, your back early. Everything is okay I hope" Sheldon starts.

"Everything's fine, Sheldon" Leonard replies.

Taking a seat on the couch Leonard places his hands on his head.

"Everything doesn't look fine" Sheldon says.

"Penny broke up with me" Leonard admits.

"What kind of tea do you want?" Sheldon asks as he moves towards the kitchen.

"I don't want Tea Sheldon" Leonard grouses.

"Well then what do you want … do you want a hug?" Sheldon offers.

"No Sheldon, I do not want a hug" Leonard says exasperated.

"Thank god, you know how I feel about … touching" Sheldon responds.

"I'm well aware" Leonard says now sitting back on the couch with his arms folded.

"Then do you want to talk about it?" Sheldon offers sitting down in his spot.

"Look I knew Penny wanted to breakup with me for awhile now" Leonard admits.

"A while?" Sheldon asks.

"Yes"

"What's a while?" Sheldon asks.

"I don't know, a couple of weeks" Leonard says frustrated.

"Wait, so when I went over to her apartment last night and asked Penny not to break up with you, you already knew?" Sheldon asks aghast.

"What?" Leonard asks angry and confused.

"Amy told me Penny wanted to break up with you when we were at the movies 2 nights ago so I've been trying to get her not to" Sheldon confesses.

"Well thanks" Leonard says sarcastically.

"Your welcome"

"How did you know she wanted to break up with you?" Sheldon asks.

"Look Sheldon, I've been with enough women to know when they are looking elsewhere. Penny is not cheating on me, but it was clear from how distracted she was acting to how she would start saying we should talk that she wanted out of our relationship" Leonard says now leaning back on the couch.

"I do not understand, I thought you loved her and were desperate to keep your relationship" Sheldon says.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. I'm tired of chasing a fantasy, maybe I could have convinced Penny to stay with me long enough that she would eventually want to settle down and want to get married, have kids but if she doesn't want to do that with me on her own with no tricks … it is just not worth it any more. I want someone who wants to be with me and I am tired of feeling that I was the only one truly invested in our relationship" Leonard says before getting up.

"Where are you going?" Sheldon asks.

"To bed, it has been a long day and we have work in the morning" Leonard says leaving without waiting for another word.

"Huh … guess I worried for nothing" Sheldon thought as he too went to bed.

Meanwhile, in his room Leonard was doing anything but sleeping. He was thinking on what he was doing with his life. Hard to believe, but he did have goals that he wanted to achieve by now. He had hoped to meet a tall (taller than him anyway), beautiful woman and they would have had one or maybe two kids. He would have tenure at the University and a lot of good friends, maybe his own house with a yard and a dog like Mitzi.

But now he felt like he need to change if he wanted any of that to happen.

'Maybe it's time I get rid most of my collectibles, costumes, video games, and assorted junk' Leonard thinks.

'Maybe I can sell it off and get enough money from it to buy my own apartment or maybe a house. I'm tired of living with someone and not able to do what I want when I want. I'm also … not sure I can continue living near Penny' Leonard things as he goes to sleep finally.

The next morning everything went as it normally did, which while he wouldn't say it Leonard was slightly thankful for. That is until they opened the door at the same time Penny was.

"Hello Penny" Sheldon said cordially.

"Hey Sheldon" Penny says awkwardly while looking towards Leonard.

Leonard turned to close and lock the door.

'Alright, I'm just going to say hello to Penny and walk down the stairs like I do every day' Leonard thinks before turning around.

"Hi Penny"

"Hi …" Penny responds awkwardly.

"Is this going to be awkward?" Sheldon says adding to the awkward situation.

"No, we're going to work Penny's going to work there is nothing to be awkward about" Leonard says moving to start down the stairs.

"Good, because the last time the two of you broke up I was nearly eaten by a gigantic devil dog" Sheldon says.

Leonard and Penny ignore him as they head down the steps. The rest of the trip was silent and awkward, but they made it down the stairs and out the door before a new problem surfaced. Penny's car was parked closer to the building so the boys left as she got in her vehicle and started it up … or tried to in this case.

Eheehecrooshvrcrankcrshboom

"Stupid piece of junk car!" Penny yells as she hits the horn of car.

BEEEEEPPPPPPPPP

She tries to turn it on again only to encounter the same problem only this time smoke billowed out from the hood of the car.

"Great just what I needed!" Penny screams.

"Penny, do you need a lift?"

She hears and realizes it's Leonard and the awkwardness from before looms large.

"No sweetie, I can just call a cab or something" Penny replies.

She needed to get to work, but she didn't want to deal with Sheldon or his comments on their failed relationship. Still, she had to get to work.

"Ummm … actually if you could drop me off I'll get a ride back from one of the girls at work" Penny says.

"Sure" Leonard says.

Penny gets of her car and locks it before getting in the car with the guys. Thankfully or maybe not so thankfully instead of saying inappropriate and invasive things about the end of their relationship Leonard started one of Sheldon's car games that distracted him enough that he forgot about their situation until they arrived at Penny's work and she got out.

"Leonard, thanks for driving me to work. Maybe you have time to come in and have a treat on me before you go to work" Penny offers.

"Thanks Penny, but it's not necessary. We're going to be late and you know how Sheldon is about being punctual" Leonard explains.

"Got it, well maybe I can bring something home for you" Penny offers.

"Uhhh … sure, maybe a burger, hold the cheese" Leonard says.

"Got it one Old Fashioned Burger" Penny says before looking at Sheldon.

"Sheldon would you like something?" Penny asks.

"Penny … it's Monday. You know I eat here on Tuesday so no I do not want anything" Sheldon tells her.

"Fine Sheldon, but just so you know you could have asked to have it on Tuesday instead of doing what you usually do and crapping all over a perfectly friendly offer" Penny says as she turns and walks away before he can respond.

"I tell you Leonard your better off now that she dumped you" Sheldon says.

"What?" Leonard asks.

"I'm just saying you are better off now that she dumped you" Sheldon repeats.

"Ughh … alright, how am I better off without Penny?" Leonard asks as he drives off.

"Well for one, you don't have to put up with her back talk any more …" Sheldon replies.

This went on throughout the rest of the drive as Sheldon tried to cheer him up by coming up with reasons why Leonard was better off without Penny.

"Oh, and now you will not have to watch her stuff her food and her mouth and …"

"That's enough Sheldon!" Leonard yells finally having enough.

"I don't know why your getting upset with me. Penny is the one who threw your heart in the trash, not me" Sheldon argues.

"Fine, I'm sorry Sheldon. We're here at work so let's just drop it" Leonard asks.

"Fine, I don't even remember how we got on the topic of your doomed relationship with Penny" Sheldon says as he gets out of the car.

 **Later that night**

*Knock* *Knock*

"Hello Penny" Sheldon greets answering the door.

"Hello Sheldon, is Leonard here?" She asks.

"Hey Penny" Leonard says from his seat.

"Hey Leonard" Penny says with a bright smile as she walks past/through Sheldon.

"What's going on?" Leonard asks.

He knew why she was there, but Penny wore a red dress with red pumps and her hair done up in a way she knew he loved.

"I'm just here to bring you your burger" Penny says as she hands him the bag with the burger.

"Thank you, Penny but it really wasn't necessary. I would always help out a friend" Leonard replies.

"No, no I promised you a burger so that's what your going to get … so what are you guys doing tonight?" She responds.

"Nothing much, might watch a movie later on" Leonard answers.

"Sounds like fun, well I just wanted to bring your burger before I head out" Penny says.

"Alright, well have fun and thanks for the burger" Leonard responds.

"Don't you want to know where I'm going?" Penny asks.

"No, it's not of my business now that we're not going together any more. Have fun and be safe" Leonard replies.

"Okay … your sure you don't want to talk about it or … anything?" Penny asks.

"Nope" Leonard replies.

"Okay, well then I better go" Penny says.

Leonard waves as she hesitantly walks out the door.

 **A week later**

"Leonard, what's going on here?" Sheldon inquires.

"I'm packing my collectibles to sell" Leonard informs him.

"This is about Penny again, isn't it" Sheldon points out.

"It is" Leonard says as he puts an action figure into the box.

"Didn't you learn from the last time we went through this oh look who I'm talking to of course you didn't" Sheldon says.

"Sheldon, I do not expect you to understand this, but I realized that a woman like Penny will never take me seriously until I stop relying on childish pursuits" Leonard responds.

"Even if what you said is true. You have had a number of relationships with women who were not Penny and none of them seemed to be bothered by your love of comics or your slight stature" Sheldon points out.

"You never like any of the women I have dated" Leonard rebuts.

"Nah uh there was Dr. Stephanie" Sheldon reminds him.

"Whom you only liked because you used our relationship to solicit free medical advice" Leonard points out.

"Well shouldn't I get something out of your romantic entanglements. You received coitus, not to mention money from Mrs. Latham so why shouldn't I receive something as well" Sheldon retorts.

"Because you are not me and my relationships romantic or otherwise do not involve you!" Leonard shouts losing his cool a bit.

"Now wait just a minute, as long as you continue to traipse these different women though our apartment I believe I do have a say. It's not just you that lives here, honestly you can be so selfish sometimes Leonard" Sheldon says dismissively.

Of course, that comment just made Leonard realize something else that he needed to change.

"But back to the topic at hand, I can't allow you to give away all your valuables. Knowing you, you probably got .10 cents on the dollar you could have received for all of them" Sheldon says.

"This is also none of your business Sheldon, if I want to give it all away for free it's my decision not yours so back off" Leonard responds strongly.

"Fine, but I'm keeping this … this … this …

"Sheldon, you have zero claim to any of those so put them back and I'll give you this" Leonard says.

"Leonard, you know I can't be … where are on earth did you buy this!?" Sheldon yells as he eagerly swipes it out of Leonard's hand.

"I figured you'd have say something to say about this like last time, so this is my compromise. I give you this you stay quiet for a week about me and penny or my selling my collectibles" Leonard offers.

Sheldon was stuck, on the one hand he could care less about Leonard and Penny beyond them doing what he wants them to do and he didn't like the idea of Leonard getting rid of his things especially when he enjoyed playing with them when Leonard was not around or unaware … but Leonard was offering a genuine cable car train set. He didn't care for those hippy punks in San Francisco, heck even the name just made him want to throw up but he did love cable cars.

"I'll also throw in this" Leonard says taking out a puzzle of a train.

"Deal!" Sheldon says excitedly forgetting all about Leonard.

As Leonard watches the so called super genius play with his new toys he had to wonder why he hadn't done this sooner.

 **2 Weeks Later**

"Tell me again why you are the one taking me home?" Sheldon asks.

"For the last time, Leonard called me at work and said he had some sort of emergency that he had to take care of and wouldn't return home this weekend" Amy tells him for the tenth time.

"And he didn't tell you what the emergency was?" Sheldon questioned.

"For the tenth time, no Leonard did not tell me what the emergency was and because I know you I asked" Amy responds.

"Curious … there is nothing on his calendar about any important event and his family are all busy with more important matters than Leonard … and none of them would call him for anything important …" Sheldon ponders aloud.

"Look Sheldon, I know this is not your modus operandi, but maybe you could wait for Leonard to get home and tell you what happened" Ami offers.

"No, that'll never work. I'll just call him" Sheldon says.

"Huh … this gets curiouser and curiouser" Sheldon says a moment later.

"What?" Amy asks.

"His phone isn't ringing" Sheldon answers.

"He probably has it on 'do not disturb' mode if he's busy" Amy tells him.

"Well how will I get in touch with him if I need anything, I tell you Leonard is so inconsiderate. He never thinks about the consequences of his actions" Sheldon gripes.

"I'm sure Penny will also be upset" Amy says aloud.

"Penny, who cares about her. He was supposed to take me to the train store and after that he would take me to the lecture going on at the Pasadena Model Railway Club" Sheldon complains.

"I can take you" Amy suggests.

"Fine, but this isn't over. I mean what kind of man runs out on his best friend and leaves him behind with nary a thought about his feelings or wellbeing" Sheldon continues.

 **Following Monday**

"Leonard, there you are. We're going to be late" Sheldon says.

"Hello to you to Sheldon, how was your weekend Sheldon, what did you do this weekend Sheldon" Leonard returns.

"Fine, great, and I'll tell you in the car because we are going to be late!" Sheldon complains.

"Fine, just let me put my stuff in my room and we can go" Leonard says as he walks to his room.

"Hey, wait a minute … somethings off about you" Sheldon says lateness forgotten.

"I'm sure it's nothing, you go wait in the car and I'll be right out" Leonard says.

"No, no … I feel like it's right in front of me …" Sheldon says staring hard at Leonard.

"Fine you want to know, I had laser surgery to fix my eyes" Leonard says.

"No that's not … You had surgery!" Sheldon shouts.

"Yeah, it's cool see no glasses" Leonard models using his hands as circular frames.

"You had surgery" Sheldon says alarmed.

"Yeah, it was really simple in and out in under thirty minutes and after a night resting in a hotel I have perfect 20/20 vision" Leonard says.

"Ugh … Leonard …"

"Yes Sheldon" Leonard replies prepared for some crazy rant.

"You know there is no such thing as 20/20 vision. That's just a myth, what you meant to say is that you had your ocular vision corrected to near perfect human dimensions" Sheldon corrects.

"I mean for a goat, or a shark, or a falcon 20/20 vision would be terrible. You might as well be blind if you were a goat, or a shark, or a falcon, or a chameleon with 20/20 vision" Sheldon lectures.

"Got it 20/20 not special no can we leave. I really do not want to be late today" Leonard says.

"Fine, but this isn't over. Having unnecessary surgery will get you killed, when we get back home tonight I'll show you several slides and a clip I saw on YouTube that explains why any surgery is bad unless you need it and even then, it's not such a good idea" Sheldon continues.

"I'm already looking forward to it" Leonard says sarcastically as he walks to his room to get dressed.

"As you should, this is information that could save your life" Sheldon says.

"Ughh, I swear what would he do without me" Sheldon says while waiting for Leonard to return.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading my new story. It's been on my mind for a long time and I just decided to put it out there. I hope you like it and where I go with it**


	2. Chapter 2 - Trying to Move on

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Big Bang Theory or know anyone affiliated with the show. Just a fan**

 **Chapter 2 - Moving on  
**

"Hey Leonard, now that Penny dumped you do you want to hang out tonight?" Raj asks.

"Raj, it wasn't funny three weeks ago when Penny and I broke up and it's still not funny" Leonard responds.

"Come on dude it's freaking inconceivable that you and her actually hooked up where there was a relationship to actually break up with" Raj continues.

"What about you Sheldon, do you have anything to contribute?" Raj asks.

"I was with you weeks ago when you started this form of mockery, but now … ehhh, I'm over it" Sheldon replies.

"Well thank you Sheldon, it's nice to know I have at least one friend that doesn't take joy in a painful experience I am having" Leonard says.

"Your welcome, but I stopped caring weeks ago" Sheldon says bluntly.

"Why did I expect anything else, anyway Sheldon Amy will be taking you home for the foreseeable future" Leonard tells him.

"What why?" Sheldon asks.

"I've decided to take a few classes in the afternoon after work" Leonard tells them.

"So, you've finally seen the light and decided to go for that teaching degree. I'm sure there is a history class destined to listen to you drone on about already stated facts waiting for you" Sheldon says.

"No, I'm taking a cooking class" Leonard reveals.

"Really, I've always wanted to do that but you know Howard. He thinks it's girly" Raj tells them.

"Well your welcome to join me. It's $750, but they supply the equipment and some of the supplies you will need" Leonard tells him.

"I've read about some cheaper options, the one I was interested in is being held at the Farmers Market" Raj suggests.

"Yeah, I saw that one too, but I've already paid for the class" Leonard tells him.

"Oh, okay then" Raj concedes.

"Why are you taking cooking classes?" Sheldon asks.

"I'm tired of takeout every night and this will help save money?" Leonard responds.

"Save money, is something going on?" Raj questions.

"No, it's just a useful skill I've always thought about acquiring" Leonard tells them.

Raj nods, while Sheldon goes back to eating his food.

"I'm also trying to learn a second language" Leonard adds.

"Might I suggest Mandarin, it's a difficult language that will probably take you several decades to master but as the saying goes 'if it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing'" Sheldon says.

"Ohh, ooh, I know how about Spanish. For a first language it's rather easy to learn and good place to start" Raj suggests.

"Yeah I thought about that, but I'm actually thinking I want to learn French" Leonard says ignoring Sheldon.

"Why French?" Raj asks.

"Well I've always wanted to take one of those European Tours, seeing the Eiffel Tower, touring the La Cite des sciences et de l'Industrie, and visiting the Louvre are all on my bucket list" Leonard answers.

"You know I've always wanted to see the Museo Galileo" Raj adds on.

"Isn't that in Italy?" Leonard asks.

"Yeah, but that's also part of Europe" Raj responds.

"Well you know what I've always dreamed of visiting?" Sheldon butts.

"We know, The CERN Large Hadron Collider" Leonard and Raj say together.

"We know, you haven't let us live it down how you were meant to go on that trip since we came back" Leonard responds.

"I wasn't that sick, I still could have gone. It's not like the Flu is that contagious or anything" Sheldon says back.

"You could barely leave the toilet by the time I had called Raj and asked he wanted to go" Leonard points out.

"So, when is the class?" Raj asks ignoring Sheldon.

"Tonight at 5:30 p.m."

"So I'll follow you there" Raj says.

"Oh and just a little heads up, the instructor is a woman that runs a restaurant on 128th& 9th street" Leonard tells him.

"Oh, I've heard of that place, it's fine dude. I heard it's some little old lady and her granddaughter that run that shop, but I also did hear that the food is good" Raj says.

 **Later that day**

"Hey Sheldon, hi this came for you today" Penny says lugging in a big box.

"Oh, thank you Penny" Sheldon says taking the box from her.

Sheldon then reaches into his pocket fishing for something. It was $1.00.

"Here's for your trouble" Sheldon says.

"Oh boy, a whole dollar. Now I can quit my paper route" Penny says mocking him.

Sheldon just looked at her with exasperation for a moment before diving back into the materials.

"So, what's in there?" Penny asks curiously.

"It's journals and research papers, I wrote as a child" Sheldon answers opening the box.

"Ooh, how cute" Penny responds.

"Is this like a journal" Penny says fishing one out.

Looking over at what she's holding he corrects her.

"No, that's my potty training journal" Sheldon tells her.

"Potty training journal?" Penny says wanting to drop the book back in the box, but for some reason felt compelled to read.

"Yes, and forgive my crude penman ship. I really didn't improve until I learned type writing at age 6" Sheldon says excited.

"August 7th, 8:42 a.m. – 'this is humiliating, what was wrong with diapers'" Penny read.

Pleased with himself Sheldon explains further.

"Yes, in the back there are charts where I kept track of shape, color, and consistency" Sheldon reveals.

"Ewww, disgusting" Penny says finally dropping the book and wiping off her hands.

"Why do you need all this stuff for anyway?" Penny asks.

"I am glad you asked" Sheldon says.

'I know I am totally going to regret this' she thinks.

"Are you familiar with the Higgs Boson?" Sheldon asks knowing the answer.

"Ahh , of course, it's a … very …famous Boson" Penny responds shakily trying to avoid the lecture she knew in the end would only leaving her feeling stupid and angry.

"Nice try" Sheldon says shaking his head with contempt.

"In 1964 Doctor Peter Higgs accomplished self-promoter and physicist wrote a paper postulating the existence of a subatomic particle he called the Higgs Boson. Now, initially the paper was rejected, but recently he was proven to be correct in his findings and now he is on the fast track to winning a Nobel prize" Sheldon tells her.

"That's basically what I said" She responds meekly.

Sheldon just dismisses the pointless comment and continues.

"Anyway, what's the point?" Penny asks.

"The point is, Higgs is being celebrated for work he did years ago. So, I've been thinking perhaps I have also already hit upon the idea that will win my Nobel prize" Sheldon tells her.

Penny walks over and takes another journal from the box.

"You really think there is some kind of scientific discovery in here?" She asks skimming through it.

"Well … this box only covers my work through nursery school, there is a good deal more to come. See I didn't really hit my academic stride until I cut out that time suck known as playing out doors" Sheldon says.

"So, your going to go through all this by yourself?" She says looking down at the contents of the box.

"You know … now that I think about it, maybe I should get someone to do it for me. I mean my time really is too valuable, but who could do it?" Sheldon thinks.

'There's obviously Leonard, it's not like he has anything better to do' Sheldon decides.

"I'll do it?" Penny says quietly, but not quietly enough.

"Really, you can asses the quality of my work?" He looks at her derision and haughty condemnation.

"Yes, I can do it" Penny asserts not wanting to back down from the asshole.

"Okay then …" Sheldon digs through the box and picks out another journal " Here, I wrote this when I was 5 years old" Sheldon tells her.

Penny begins to read at the start of the book.

"A proof that Algebraic Topology can never have a non-self contradictory set of abelian group … I'm just a blonde monkey to you aren't I" Penny says angrily.

"You said it not me" Sheldon says as focuses back on his earlier works.

"Hey you haven't seen Leonard, have you?" Penny asks.

"Of course, I have" He answers not taking his eyes off one of his journals.

"Could you tell me when you saw him?" Penny asks.

"I saw him earlier today" Sheldon answers.

"What time earlier today?" Penny continues.

"Well I saw him this morning when we were eating our breakfast, then again some time later when he was taking me to work, and …" Sheldon starts.

"SHELDON! When was the last time you saw LEONARD!" Penny yells getting fed up.

"Okay, okay, no need to yell. He's out with Koothrappali" Sheldon tells her.

"What are those two doing together?" Penny asks.

"Leonard's taking cooking classes and Raj joined him" Sheldon tells her wanting her to leave.

Penny stood there for a minute confused.

"Cooking classes … why is Leonard taking cooking classes?" She asks aloud.

"If your expecting me to answer you, this is one of the very few things I don't know" Sheldon answers.

"Just read your poop journal" Penny says as she leaves.

"Lord, I thought she'd never leave" Sheldon says making sure to lock the door this time.

 **Next day**

Leonard and Sheldon were heading out the door to work when Penny opens her door.

"Good morning" Leonard says congenially.

"Good morning Penny" Sheldon says giving the standard greeting.

"Morning" Penny says slightly out of it.

Penny had gone out last night and had a few too many luckily, she ended up in her own apartment. Unluckily she woke up in time to remember she had the morning shift at the Cheesecake Factory.

All 3 walked down the steps in silence until Penny woke up enough to ask Sheldon a question.

"Did you figure out your problem from last night?" She asks him.

"I asked Leonard, but he told me he also had better things to do" Sheldon tells her.

"But he did sort of land on a solid solution, so like always I solved the problem on my own" Sheldon adds.

Leonard just ignores him.

"Well good for you sweetie" Penny says before focusing on Leonard.

"And where were you last night. Sheldon told me you were at a cooking class with Raj, but I didn't see you come home before I went out" Penny says.

"The 2 instructors are both women, so of course Raj couldn't talk to them but he could send them weird looks that creeped them out so he got us kicked out of the class" Leonard says.

"What?" "Why did you get kicked out?" Penny asks now fully awake.

"Well it was a small class about 14 or 15 of us all women except for me, Raj, and a couple of guys who were there with their girlfriends" Leonard starts.

"Let me guess, because you brought Raj they totally thought the two of you were a couple when you arrived together and thought you were gay" Penny says.

"How'd you know?" Leonard asks looking at her.

"It's a paid course right?" She asks.

He nods.

"There are no credits or anything where you become a chef after taking the course, right?" Penny asks.

Once again he nods.

"There is no way a straight guy is taking that course unless his girlfriend wants him to. You should have signed up for the course at the Farmers Market" Penny says.

Leonard looked at her questioningly.

"How did you know it was a paid course?" He asks.

"Ummm … you told me?" Penny answers.

"No I didn't" Leonard responds back.

"Yes, you did" She says back.

"When?" Leonard asks.

"When she asked if it was a paid of course Leonard, keep up" Sheldon butts in.

"Fine" Leonard says just wanting to get to his car and leave.

Penny was glad that for once Sheldon acting like Sheldon worked in her favor. She had actually looked up bunch of cooking classes trying to figure where Leonard was and who else he was with until she remember who was with him. A quick look around Raj's twitter feed and she had all the info she needed and felt better about things.

You might ask why she would care, well that was obvious. Penny never wanted to break up in the first place. Yeah Leonard was short, whiny, was too close to his anal-retentive know it all roommate, and he wasn't rich. All her other boyfriends had either been a combination of tall, handsome, and rich or at least 2 out of the 3. However, she never had to really worry about falling in love with any of them. She liked them, hell most of them were actors or models and hot, but they were all shallow, insensitive, jerks that she knew would hurt her if she got too deeply involved with them. And she had been right every time as they either broke up with her after they got what they wanted from her or cheated or did something else really crappy.

Leonard was kind, devoted, and romantic in ways none of her previous boyfriends/lovers had been. She still kept a box of all the wonderful romantic stuff he did for her in her closet. He was even kind and caring after she dumped him the first two times, the problem is she wasn't ready for the kind of relationship and Leonard clearly, he wanted with her. Was she holding out hope that a tall, hot billionaire with a TV company would sweep her off her feet and giver her the lead in a hit show that would lead to commercials, movies, and her becoming a superstar … maybe, but also as great as Leonard was there was no excitement because she never had to work for it with Leonard not even a little bit. He was always just there.

But since they've broken up he's changed. Yeah, he was still kind and caring, but he was gone a lot now and while he helped her out some times there were more times when he didn't. Just the other day she had come over to eat dinner with the gang and Leonard had only brought enough for 6 not 7. She was lucky Amy and Bernadette were there otherwise she would have had to go home hungry or go all the way back to the Cheesecake Factory and steal from her work.

"So, what happened?" She asks again.

"Well like you said they thought were together so I got kicked out with him" Leonard tells her.

"We went from being a weird gay couple, to a couple of weird freaks all because Raj kept doing this weird thing with his eyebrows trying to hit on the granddaughter. Well she saw it what he was doing and threatened to call the cops over it if we didn't leave" Leonard adds.

"What he couldn't have been that bad" Penny says.

" Well he was drunk but no you are right. The problem was Raj had problems looking at Mindy the granddaughter so it looked like he was giving weird sexual looks to her 73year old grandma named Sarah" Leonard says.

"Your kidding" Penny responds shocked.

"Unfortunately I'm not, although Raj did tell me the grandma slipped him her number as we got out of there" Leonard finishes the story.

"Wow, poor Raj. Think he'll call her?" Penny asks.

"He could do worse" Leonard answers.

"You would know" Penny chides.

"Haha, very funny" Leonard responds.

"So what was your solution to Ichabod's problem?" She asks.

"I told him to hire a grad student so he'll be someone else's problem for a little while" Leonard says.

"That poor unlucky fool" Penny laments.

"Well believe it or not, for a grad student to have a shot at being his lackey for a couple of months it's a big deal" Leonard reveals.

"Really?" She questions.

"Of course they will get all the benefits of my knowledge and have an experience that some day they'll write down in a memoir that no one will read, because they will have already read mine" Sheldon interrupts.

Ignoring him Penny looks at Leonard.

"Yes really, I'm sure there will be a number of highly qualified applicants that he can reject and destroy before he gets fed up or the university gets fed up and forces him to make a decision" Leonard says.

"They can't do that, it's in my contract" Sheldon responds.

Both tune out as he recites addendum and passages and what not that were irrelevant to them, but probably meant a great deal to a Lawyer or the group of lawyers the university probably hired to see if they could get out of their original contract with the insane scientist they hired.

"Well I still feel sorry for them. It kind of reminds me of this time I was offered an acting gig in the Valley and went there thinking I had landed a big role and were on my way, until I learned what the job was" Penny says.

"Really what was it?" Leonard asks.

"A lead role in a film called Debbie Over Dallas" Penny recalls.

"Wait ... that isn't ..."

"Yep, and believe you me when I out what they were shooting I drove out of their faster than a cat hit by hot grease" Penny says.

"Well ... uhhhmmm ... yeah, something like that " Leonard agrees.

"So, why were you out late?"

They had reached the first floor and the doors so Sheldon walked on ahead not caring about the conversation as it didn't pertain to him.

"Oh well, after we got kicked out Raj wanted a drink to get over losing out on the possible love of his life" Leonard tells her.

"He said that?" Penny asks.

"Something like that" Leonard answers.

"Poor Raj, I feel so sorry for him" Penny responds.

"Anyway he was already drunk so several drinks in he was smashed and I had to call him a cab" Leonard says.

"So why were you out so late" Penny asks again a little annoyed.

"I'm getting there, the bartender called for the cab and since she was just finishing her shift she asked if she could join us" Leonard tells her.

"Wait, the bartender was a girl?"

He nodded.

"What bar was this?"

"Funny enough it was Lucky Baldwins" Leonard tells her with a laugh.

"Why is that funny?" Penny asks not getting it.

"Oh well, when Priya was her a few years ago when no one knew we were hooking up on her visits, Sheldon found out and you know how crazy gets about lying so he came up with a lye about me spending the night with a redheaded bartender named Maggie McGarry" Leonard tells her.

"He didn't" Penny laughs.

"He actually got a lock of red-hair and set up a phony answering machine message to back up the lye" Leonard reveals.

"That's hilarious, I can't believe you went along with it" She responds after she stops laughing.

"Well, it is Raj's sister and we had promised to not mess with her when she came to town the first time after I met Raj. So I felt bad about betraying his trust and didn't want to ruin our friendship over what I thought then would ever be little more than a fling" Leonard says defending himself.

"So, what happen with the bartender?" "Oh and was she a red-head?" Penny asks.

"No she wasn't a red-head, and after she helped me get Raj up to his apartment safely we kind of just hung out and talked for a bit" Leonard says.

"Did you get her number?" Penny asks.

"No, but I know where she works" He answers with a grin.

"Well look at you, Leonard Hoffstadter going to a bar and talking to strange women. If only Beverly could see you now" Penny jokes.

"Ugh, don't bring up my mother" Leonard says walking out of the lobby.

Penny watched him as the door swung close tightly clenched her fist. He wasn't supposed to go out and have fun with someone else. Now that she thought about it ...

'Why hadn't he come banging on her door, begging her to take him back yet?'

Realizing she'd be late if she didn't hurry Penny stopped thing about it and walked out the door as well.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading my the second chapter of new story. I hope you liked it and where I am going with this. Next chapter will be Sheldon's assistant.  
**


	3. Chapter 3 - Trying new ground

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Big Bang Theory or know anyone affiliated with the show. Just a fan**

 **Chapter 3 - Testing new ground  
**

"Sheldon, ready for lu..n..ch" Raj ask he and Leonard enter Sheldon's office.

Seeing Raj struggle to get out a simple lunch invitation that were per Sheldon's rules agreed upon and routine confused Leonard until he walked around him and saw why.

"Smooth" Leonard chides him.

"Hey Sheldon, aren't you going to introduce who this is?" Leonard prompts.

"No, I have people for that now. Your up kid" Sheldon orders returning to his journals.

Hurrying to off load the journal she was reading through the 5'4 tall give or take an inch, with burgundy colored hair wearing a red blouse and black banks walked over and shook both of their hands.

"Hi, I'm Alex Jensen Dr. Coopers assistant" She greets him.

"Oh congratulations, and may god have mercy on your soul" Leonard jokes.

Alex smiles and gives a small laugh.

"Nice to meet you Alex. I'm Dr. Hofstadter, Dr. Cooper's friend and long suffering roommate" Leonard tells her.

She then looks over at Raj who suddenly finds more interest in the ceiling so Leonard does the introduction for him.

"Oh that's Dr. Koothrappali" He says.

But before anything more can be said Sheldon interrupts.

"There is no time for chit-chatting Ms. Jensen, reserve that for your breaks. Oh and FYI, there are no breaks. Now, don't you have some work you need to be doing" He directs.

"Yes, Dr. Cooper I'll get right on that" Alex says immediately going over and picking up a box.

She heads for the door after doing so and says one last quick thing to the guys.

"It was nice meeting the both of you" Alex says as she leaves the room.

"She seems nice" Leonard says briefly watching her walk away.

Once she was sufficiently out of sight Raj speaks up.

"Hey, I know you are all broken-hearted and sad about Penny crushing you but she's mine. I call dibs" Raj asserts.

"All I said was that she seems nice" Leonard defends.

"Yeah, well ... I love her!" Raj declares.

"You love her! You couldn't even tell her your name!" Leonard shouts back.

"Gentlemen, gentleman please. If your going to fight ... do it outside my office" Sheldon says.

Letting go of the budding argument Leonard takes a beat and refocuses.

"Sheldon, are you coming to lunch or not?" He asks.

"Alright, give me a minute" Sheldon says.

 **Cafeteria**

Leonard and Raj take their seat at their usual table, which became the usual table 8 years ago because Sheldon determined it to be the perfect spot to sit in the lunch room but as usual he buckled so they all buckled and years later they all still sat at the same table. Others had long since learned to steer clear. Leonard wouldn't admit it, but despite the craziness and stupidity that followed his tall, lanky friend he liked being around what in the Scientific world was considered one of the cool kids. And being able to assign a table in a public room all to yourself and whoever you deemed worthy to sit with you was kind of cool.

Coming back from memory lane he notices that Sheldon still hadn't gone to get his food.

"Hey Sheldon, aren't you going to get your lunch?" Leonard asks.

"Unlike you and Raj, I no longer have to worry about mundane tasks like waiting in line to order food. I have Ms. Jensen for stuff like that" He says.

"Speaking of Ms. Jensen, Sheldon has she said anything about me?" Raj asks.

"As a matter of fact she has" Sheldon recalls.

Raj smirks at Leonard gloating over an apparent victory.

"Uh, her exact words were, 'What is that guys problem'" Sheldon recites.

"I'm in her head. Let the dance begin" Raj states with obviously false confidence.

It was right then that Alex showed up with a tray carrying Sheldon's yogurt.

"Here's your frozen yogurt, Dr. Cooper" She says handing him the frozen treat.

"This should be fun" Leonard says with a big grin.

He felt sorry for her, but if she was going to be 'his' assistant she was in for a daily set of humiliations and he couldn't like. He was going to enjoy the show just a little bit.

Alex looked at Leonard before being brought back to focus on Sheldon.

"Half chocolate, half vanilla side by side, not swirled?" Sheldon begins questioning Alex.

"Yes" she answers

"Half a teaspoon of sprinkles?"

"Rainbow, not chocolate" Alex adds showing she paid attention.

"Two cherries?" he asks.

"One on top, and one of the bottom" she responds.

"Stems removed?" Sheldon asks.

"Umm, the one on top, yes ... I forgot to check the one of the bottom" Alex answers truthfully.

"Oh!" Leonard mocks cheerfully.

"I'm so sorry Dr. Cooper" she apologizes.

"It's alright Alex. I'm not mad at you. I'm just disappointed" Sheldon responds.

Alex started to walk away before Leonard called out to her.

"Wait, Alex would you like to sit with us?" He asks her.

"Oh, thank y..." she starts before being interrupted.

"Ugh, excuse as for a minute Ms. Jensen" Sheldon says.

Confused, but wanting to keep the job she moves slightly away from the table.

"Leonard are you sure that is the right thing to do?" Sheldon asks.

"What?" Leonard asks annoyed.

"I've been watching a historical series on PBS called and in the show they don't allow the servants to sit with their masters" He starts to explain.

"Huh" he asks confused, but also revolted when he thinks about where this is going.

"We're her betters Leonard. We would be doing her a disservice to allow her to eat with us and show her a world that she could never hope to aspire to" the crazy man says out loud.

Leonard looks at him for a minute, then the cafeteria room.

"Yeah, I think she'll survive. Alex please join us" He says reiterating the offer.

"Thank you Dr. Hofstadter" she responds quickly taking the seat beside Sheldon before he could argue.

"Call me Leonard" he responds.

"O-kay, Leonard"

He smiles at her as she smiles back. However, he could feel Raj shooting death rays at him with his eyes.

"So Alex what is the topic of your dissertation" He asks.

"I'm looking for Trojan asteroids at Earth's L-5 Lagrange Point" She answers.

"Oh really, well that happens to be Dr. Koothrappali's area of expertise. You two have a lot to talk about" Leonard says with a smirk.

"Is that true?" Alex asks with a brilliant smile.

'Fuck You Leonard' Raj is thinking as he quietly gets up and moves to another table. Even Sheldon shakes his head at what Leonard did to their friend, not that he really cared.

"Is he alright?" she asks looking to Leonard.

"No, but compared to your boss he's the poster boy for sanity" Leonard quips with a laugh.

She laughs with him, but not to much just enough to be polite although she did find him funny and interesting.

"It's okay. I have been around scientists my entire life. My father is an astronomer at SETI" Alex reveals.

"Oh, SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Then you should introduce him to your boss, the search is over" he continues to joke.

"So Leonard, what kind of research are you doing?" She asks flirting with Leonard.

"High-energy lasers" He answers.

"Oh, military?" She asks.

"Oh gawd no, not yet anyway. I can remove unwanted hair from two miles away" He jokes.

They both laugh the little joke.

"Your very funny Leonard" Alex tells him.

"Thank you, I have enjoyed talking with you" Leonard responds.

Whatever else was going to be said was cut off as Sheldon started to choke on the remaining cherry stem.

 **The apartment**

Leonard gets home early seeing as Alex would drive Sheldon home when they were done for the day. Sitting on the couch he prepares to enjoy some tv with a meal he prepared when Penny pops in.

"Hey Leonard"

"Hi Penny" he responds.

"What are you doing?" She asks.

"Just having dinner, about to watch a little TV" He answers.

"Cool, cool what are you having?" She asks.

"Just a chicken sandwich and some fries" Leonard answers.

As usual she sat down and mooched a couple of fries.

"So how was your day?" Penny asks.

"It was fine, how was yours?" He replies back.

"Good, so nothing interesting happened today?" She asks.

"Not really, Sheldon choked on a cherry stem at lunch and spit out hitting Raj in the eye" He answers.

"Really, did anything else happen?" She asks again.

"Sheldon hired an assistant to handle going through his old papers and documents" He answers.

"Really, did you find her attractive?" Penny probes.

"Huh, well yeah she's cute and really nice. How did you know his assistant was a she?" Leonard asks.

"Oh, umm ... Amy, yeah Amy called the school to talk to Sheldon and I was there when she called" Penny responds.

"What were you and Amy doing?" He asks.

"She wanted me to give her makeover to make her more attractive to Sheldon" Penny answers.

"Did it work?"

"I don't think he's seen her yet?" She says.

"Well let me know if it works out for her, you know I didn't like Amy before when I first met her but she's kind of grown on me" Leonard replies.

"Me too, I was thinking that same thing earlier" Penny responds.

They lapse into a uncomfortable silence, once Penny realizes she missed her chance to ask more about what he thinks about Sheldon's assistant with talk about Amy. However, the object of her frustration came walking through the door. The front door opens to reveal Sheldon and his assistant Alex.

"Oh good Leonard, your here. Science news, this should interest you" Sheldon says.

He then notices Penny is there.

"Penny feel free to paint your nails" Sheldon rudely comments.

"Hi to you too Sheldon" Penny responds.

"What do you got?" Leonard asks.

"I believe Alex may have unearthed the grade school science project that could be my ticket to a Nobel Peace Prize. Behold" Sheldon says giving Leonard the paper.

Leonard looked over the title unimpressed. Penny got up standing beside him while pushing out her chest.

"Magnets: What do they stick to?" Leonard reads aloud.

"It the answer is metal, it's not exactly groundbreaking" Leonard remarks.

"The original title was 'A Rederivation of Maxwell's Equations Regarding Electromagnetism'. I had to down it dumb, because some of the more religious people in town were saying I was a witch" Sheldon tells him.

"Sheldon thinks the approach in his paper might change the way calculate ferromagnetic hysteresus" Alex tells Leonard.

"Oh, it's about time. I hated the old way" Penny says butting in.

"Hi, I'm Penny" she greets Alex.

"Hi, I'm Alex" she responds.

"Do you work with Dr. Hofstadter?" Alex asks.

"Actually, Alex this our neighbor Penny" Leonard cuts in.

"Oh" Alex responds.

Both girls size the other up before Penny moves over to Leonard.

"Hey Leonard, can I talk to you?" Penny asks.

"Uhh sure, what about?" He asks confused.

"In private?" Penny asks.

Penny doesn't even both waiting for the reply and just takes him by the hand out of the apartment. Alex watches not liking it, but decides not to make a bit deal of it as she was here to work. Seeing Leonard again was just a nice coincidence. Meanwhile in the hall Leonard manages to remove Penny's hand from his.

"What did you want to talk about?" Leonard asks.

"Can we do this in my apartment?" She asks not sure what to do.

"Sure" he responds following her.

They both walk into her apartment and sit on the couch just like a several weeks back when she broke up with him.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Leonard asks when Penny still stays silent for a couple of minutes.

"Sheldon's assistant seems interested in you?" She leads off with.

"That's what you wanted to talk about?" Leonard asks ready to leave.

"No, yes ... I don't know. I want to know how you feel about her?" Penny asks.

"Why?" He responds.

"Can you please just answer the question?" Penny asks.

"I don't know. I just met her. Why do you care?" He responds.

"Look I know we broke up, but I still care about you Leonard" Penny responds.

"And I you, but that doesn't explain what's going on here?" Leonard says.

"Look, I ... maybe I want to get back together?" She says.

"Why because of Alex?" He guesses.

"Yes, no ... I don't know, maybe" Penny responds.

"Look, maybe it's selfish but when I see the way she looks at you it makes me jealous" Penny confesses.

"Say something!" She yells when he just sits there after her bold honesty.

"I don't know what you want from me. It's clear you just want to get back together because there is someone new who likes me in the picture. Despite never hearing you say it I truly believe you love me, but it's clear that's not enough for you. I think it's best we stay friends and not mess things up right now" Leonard responds.

Penny just nodded. She felt a lot of things confusion, anger, sadness, and the oddest of all she felt hot. Maybe it was because Alex was threatening what she always saw as hers or maybe a little of it had to do with Leonard not caving to what she wanted like he always did, she didn't know. All she knew was in this moment Leonard had started to look a little more desirable to her.

"I think I'm going to leave now" Leonard says getting up off the couch and heading to the door.

Leaving the apartment Leonard found himself in another confusing mess. Like he said to Penny he found Alex attractive and nice. She didn't come off like the women he had gone out with in the past ... well except for Stephanie, but she was Sheldon's assistant. Did he really want to go there?

Getting out of his head Leonard returns to his apartment to find Sheldon and Alex still working. Deciding not to disturb them he went to his room so he could think. Of course that couldn't happen, because next thing he knew there was a knock on his door.

"Who is it?" He asks.

"It's Alex"

Not sure what to do, but figuring it wouldn't hurt to find out he goes to the door and opens it.

"Hi" He greets.

"Hey, I just wanted to see if you were okay" She asks.

"Yeah I'm fine" He responds.

"Really, well you seemed a little troubled when you came back" Alex says.

"Yeah, well Penny is my ex and she wanted to get back together" Leonard says startling her.

She knew something was there, but she had to admit it was hard to believe Leonard being with a girl like Penny.

"Oh" she replied.

"Yeah, but she was just jealous" Leonard tells her.

"Jealous?"

"For some reason she thinks your interested in me" Leonard reveals with a chuckle.

Shocked, but also encouraged Alex takes her shot.

"What if I was" She asks.

"If you were what?" Leonard asks dumbly confused.

"What if I was interested in dating you" Alex replies.

"Oh"

"I mean if your not interested ..." She started.

"No I'm interested, but your Sheldon's assistant" He tells her.

"I don't understand"

"Dealing with Sheldon is ... well, he's crazy"

"I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested" They suddenly hear.

"How did he?" Alex questions.

"I wouldn't think about it, I think he has this place bugged or something" Leonard says.

"Okay, but what does have to do with dating me?" She asks.

"He's crazy possessive, if we were to go out I would have to hear about it every day and not only from him" Leonard tells her.

"Who else would have a problem with us dating?" Alex asks.

"Well there is Penny and then there is Raj" Leonard says surprising her.

"Dr. Koothrappali?" She questions.

"He's in love with you and called dibs on dating you" Leonard tells her.

"He barely even spoke to me" Alex responds.

"What can I tell you, they're all crazy" Leonard says.

"So what do you want to do" Alex asks him.

"Sheldon's bed time is almost near, we could go somewhere and talk" Leonard suggest.

"Okay" Alex says happy.

With that she went back to working with Sheldon and a couple of hours later she and Leonard leave the apartment. They went to see a movie, which didn't give them the chance to talk, but it did allow Leonard to learn a little more about her. He learned that she liked science fiction movies and that she liked eating sour patch kids with her popcorn. Afterwards they drove back to the apartment where she told him more about herself and he told her stories about his childhood.

When they got back to his apartment she dropped him off and headed home since it was late and would need to be up ready to go for when Sheldon called her. Walking inside the building he saw some men looking at the Elevator shaft. He talked to them for a bit since he was secretly funding the project to fix and modernize it. He always felt such guilt when he saw some of the older tenants struggle to get up and down the stairs of the building not to mention the service and delivery people. Their building had actually been called off limits by several services, because of the elevator situation or maybe it was because they met Sheldon. Either way a part of him selling his sundry of collectibles and gaming items went to this and the rest was to finding a new place to live. So far the search was proving a little difficult, but the agent found some promising leads in the area that would be close to work.

Walking up the stairs he finds Penny seemingly waiting on him.

"You were out late for a school night" She jokes.

"Alex asked me out" Leonard says with a smile, ignoring the joke.

"Really" Penny responds neutrally out loud, but inside she was thinking 'damn that little slut moves fast'.

"Yeah, just a movie and we talked a little but we plan to go out again Friday" Leonard tells her happy.

"Well good for you sweetie" Penny says reflexively though internally she was pissed.

"Goodnight Penny" Leonard says opening his door.

"Goodnight Leonard" Penny responds.

Entering the apartment Leonard closed the door and went straight to his room.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading my the third chapter of new story. I hope you liked it. Next week I'll try to focus on some of my other stories.  
**


	4. Chapter 4 - It's Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Big Bang Theory or know anyone affiliated with the show. Just a fan**

 **Chapter 4 - Hero's Welcome  
**

"Hey Raj" Leonard calls out.

"Hey Leonard" Raj responds.

"I thought you would be at the airport to greet Howard?"

"Yeah, well Bernadette made it very clear she wants him all to herself today" Raj tells him.

"So what are you plans then?" Leonard asks.

"Stuart and I are going to see the Sound of Music the Sing-Along"

"Sounds like fun" Leonard responds.

"It is, what about you?" Raj asks.

"Well, Sheldon finished going through his old papers and projects so I don't want to stay at home while he has date night with Amy. I might ask Alex out if she doesn't have any plans" Leonard says.

"WHAT!?"

"You jerk, you know I was working up the courage to ask her out!" Raj says angrily.

"You could have asked her out to the Sound of Music event instead of Stuart" Leonard replies.

"You know I can't do that" Raj responds.

"Why not?" Leonard asks.

"It's too soon, besides I promised Stuart weeks ago that I would take him" Raj responds.

Leonard just gives him a disbelieving look.

"Sure" He responds.

"It's true, we were talking about it one night when I was feeling lonely and ended up at the Comic Book store. Stuart's really a good listener and friend" Raj defends.

"Yeah, Stuart's a good guy. We should hang out with him more" Leonard says.

"Yeah but you know how Sheldon will react. With Howard back he'll complain about their being too many people" Raj reminds him.

"We don't need to include Sheldon" Leonard says.

"What?" Raj asks in disbelief.

"I'm tired of cow-tailing to his demands just because he'll act like spoiled, whiny, passive aggressive baby. I'm tired of deciding what I have for breakfast, based off his schedule. I'm tired of not being able to go to the bathroom in my own home when I need to use the bathroom. And I'm tired of deciding what to do and how to do it, because I was stupid enough to sign an agreement because I couldn't find a better, cheaper place to live 10 years ago" Leonard complains.

"Didn't you sign a new contract last year to keep dating my sister" Raj needles.

"Don't remind me" Leonard responds.

"You know, she's scheduled to come back to L.A. in a couple of months" Raj tells him.

"Oh, I'm guessing it's for business again" Leonard responds.

"No, she has some time off and said she wanted to spend a week here" Raj says.

"Why are you telling me this?" Leonard asks.

"I thought you'd want to know, you did say you love her?" Raj reminds him.

"And then she went off and slept with her ex" Leonard reminds him.

"Relax dude, I was kidding. She's engaged to Sanjay" Raj informs him.

"Good for her, I hope they will be happy together" Leonard responds.

"Your taking this better than I expected" Raj says a little miffed.

"It's not like the relationship was going to work. She likes it in India and it's not like your parents would have ever approved of us being together" Leonard responds.

Raj just nods. He was still hearing it from his parents about letting his sister date the little white boy when he talked them. He even received a cut on his allowance because of it. That made him think of something else that was on his mind.

"Hey if your going out with Alex does this mean your done with Penny?" Raj asks.

"She's broken up with me twice now, I've faced facts all of you were right and it just isn't meant to be" Leonard responds.

"I thought it was three times, not including the times you two hooked up and you begged her to get back with you" Raj says with a sneaky smirk on his face.

"Two, three what does it matter how many times we broke up?" Leonard asks angrily.

"It really doesn't, I'm just messing with you buddy" Raj jokes.

"Point is I realize now that our relationship is never going to where I wish it would" Leonard adds.

"Cool ... so if I were to try to date her?" Raj fishes.

"I'd say be my guest. Penny is free to date whomever she wants" Leonard responds.

"Even Sheldon?" Raj jokes.

"Even Sheldon" Leonard responds.

"Do you even think that's possible?" Raj asks curiously.

"No, but then again I never thought the two of you would have hooked up" Leonard says with a smirk.

"Hardy har, har, har I'll have you know that if I thought my parents would have been okay with it we be together right now" Raj answers angrily .

"Whatever, look I have an experiment to plan so we'll talk later" Leonard says.

"Alright buddy, if Alex mentions me ... you better tell me" Raj says as he walks away.

'I really need to get better friends' Leonard thinks.

 **Later that night**

*Mhhmmm* *Mhmmm* * MHMMmmm*

"God I love kissing you" Leonard says as he goes in for another kiss.

"I like kissing you too" Alex responds before giving in to another round of smooching.

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

'Damnit, who is this?' Leonard thinks.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Alex asks breaking the kiss.

"It's probably nobody important" Leonard tries to argue.

"It could be an emergency" Alex returns.

Not wanting it to turn into an argument or a big thing Leonard takes out his phone checks the caller ID.

"Huh, it's Howard" Leonard reveals.

"Oh, Dr. Cooper really wanted to see him today but he said there was a change of plans" Alex tells him.

"Yeah, his wife Bernadette wanted time alone with him on his first day back and we all understood. They were married just before it was time to go to Moscow for the launch and never even got to have a honeymoon" Leonard tells her.

Leonard picks up the phone and answers.

"Hey Howard, welcome home Mr. Astronaut" Leonard greets.

"Hey Leonard, where are you?" Howard asks.

"Actually I'm on a date" Leonard tells him.

He looks over and notices the smile on Alex's face that he returns.

"Really with who, I just left your apartment and Penny's there with Sheldon & Amy playing some weird game" Howard responds.

"Yeah ... you've been gone awhile. Penny and I broke up maybe a month ago" Leonard reveals.

"Wow, so let me guess ... she dumped you" Howard says.

"Well ... yes, she broke up with me" Leonard answers.

"Hehehe, called it" Howard gloats.

"Yeah, whatever you called it. Look Howard I'm on a date so if you don't want anything else ..." Leonard tries hoping he will hang up.

"Hey what's the hurry. Raj is out with Stuart, Bernadette is sick, and the rest of the gang is caught up playing some stupid game that for some reason they couldn't invite me to join so how about we hang out for a bit" Howard suggests.

"I'm on a date" Leonard tries to remind her.

"That's great bring her along, maybe she'd like to hear stories about a real American Astronaut from a real American Astronaut" Howard responds desperate.

"Hold on a minute" Leonard says as he puts his hand over the phone.

"Is everything alright?" Alex asks.

"Yeah, it's just it sounds like he's having a rough night and wants some company or someone to brag too about going into space" Leonard says.

"Oh okay, I understand you can take me home and hang out with your friend" Alex says.

"Actually he suggested I bring you with me" Leonard says.

"Where is he?" She asks.

"Actually I don't know, let me find out" Leonard says picking up the phone.

"Howard where are you?" Leonard asks.

"I'm at a diner" Howard says.

"He's at a diner" Leonard repeats to asks to Alex.

"Okay, sure" She responds.

"Alright, text me the address and we'll be there in a couple of minutes" Leonard says as he hangs up.

"You sure this alright, if you want to go home or do anything else we don't have to go" Leonard tells her.

"No, it's fine. I'd like to meet all of your friends" Alex responds.

"Okay then, let's go" Leonard says as he starts up the car.

 **30 minutes later**

"Welcome back Howard" Leonard says as he embraces his friend.

"Hey Leonard" Howard greets.

Breaking off the hug Leonard introduces Alex.

"Howard, this is Alexandra Jensen" Leonard tells him.

"Hello Alexandra, is that like the famous Alexandria of Hypatia featured in the works of Raphael?" Howard asks as he shakes her hand.

"Howard cut it out, your married remember" Leonard reminds.

"Sorry Leonard, but when you got it you got it" Howard says as he sits back down on his bar stool.

"Whatever" Leonard responds.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Wolowitz, please call me Alex" Alex greets.

He and Alex also take a seat although Leonard made sure he was the one sitting next to Howard.

"So how long has this been going on?" Howard asks.

"Not that long, we've been going out about a month now" Alex answers.

"How did you two meet?" Howard asks.

"Actually we met in Sheldon's office, she's signed up to be his grad assistant" Leonard answers.

"May god have mercy on your soul" Howard jokes ... sort of.

"He's not that bad. My dad works for SETI so I'm used to eccentric scientists" Alex responds.

"Yeah, but nothing like Sheldon I'm sure" Howard probes.

"Well one of them was sure that aliens were listening to his thoughts so he's wear those tin foil hats everywhere and periodically he'd make a weird screeching sound, because he said it disrupts alien thought waves" Alex tells him.

"Wow, really?" Leonard asks.

Alex just nods.

"Yeah, okay that guy's nuts" Howard says.

"You know it wasn't exactly like that, but Sheldon did something similar to that in the past although it wasn't aliens. He actually hopes aliens come and enslave the planet and make him the supreme overlord" Leonard remarks.

"And we long ago established he's also nuts" Howard responds.

"So Howard tell us all about Space" Leonard says.

"Oh, there isn't much to tell ..." Howard begins.

 **2 hours later**

"You know it took me the first month to figure out how to get out of the sleeping bag safely and did you know that there is no ..." Howard continues.

"Ugh Howard, it's been really great to see you but it's now 11:00 P.M. and you know Sheldon if I don't get home soon I'll miss my chance to use the bathroom" Leonard tries to leave for the fifth time.

"Oh come on Leonard, we used to stay up later than this playing Halo" Howard responds.

"I'm sorry Howard, but it's time for us to go ... but there is something I wanted to talk to you about now that you're back on Earth" Leonard says.

"Sure, what is it" Howard asks.

"You remember when me, you, and Raj mined some coin in your room?" Leonard asks.

"Well I have been looking into buying some property recently and I remembered the coin. I remembered that I had it on my old laptop, but then loaned it to Penny. Long story short I found the coin and sold my portion and here is the flash drive with the rest" Leonard says handing the flash drive to Howard.

"A batman flash drive?" Howard chides.

"Yeah, Sheldon was the one who actually had it too 'teach us' a lesson he put on this old flash drive that I threw away. Lucky for us, that Stuart had it and didn't erase it. Oh, I also had to promise him a share of the profits you receive from it" Leonard tells him.

"Damn that crazy bastard, you know valuable this flash drive might be in a couple of years and he almost ruined it for all of us. How do you still live with that megalomaniac?" Howard asks.

"I honestly don't know, anyway I just wanted to give you that. Maybe you and Bernadette can use some of the money to go on a honeymoon if you decide to cash in now" Leonard says.

"No, I think I'm going to wait and let it the price on these bad boys go up even higher. You didn't tell Bernadette about it did you?" Howard asks.

"No, the only ones who know are me, you, Stuart, and Sheldon" Leonard says.

"Great, I love Bernadette but she has her job and I want a little something set aside for myself" Howard explains.

"She's a lucky woman" Leonard remarks.

"Don't you know it, but hey I've taken up enough of your time. You kids go out and have a good time" Howard says.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow" Leonard says.

"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Wolowitz" Alex says.

"Please, call me Howard" He responds.

"Okay, Howard it was nice meeting you" She responds.

"Nice to meet you too Alex"Howard responds.

 **2 weeks later**

"Hey Leonard" Howard greets.

"Hi Leonard" Raj greets.

"Hey Howard, Raj" Leonard returns.

"Where were you last night?" Raj asks.

"I was with Alex" Leonard answers.

"Really what's that the third night this week, please tell me your at least hitting that" Howard says with a disturbing little wink.

"What I do with Alex is none of your business Howard" Leonard replies seriously.

"So ... nothing happened, again. What are you her girlfriend?" Howard questions.

"Dude, back off. If Leonard is comfortable being another woman's lady friend who are we to question it. Besides, he missed the big news last night" Raj interjects.

"I am not her lady friend. I'd like it if my friends didn't badger me about my relationships and what we are or are not doing and just support me" Leonard requests.

"Yeah we got you dude, we're okay that your wuss. That's not what's important. I said you missed out on some big news last night at the comic book store" Raj responds.

"What's your big news?" Leonard asks giving up.

"Stuart is throwing his annual Halloween bash and he put me in charge of it!" Raj almost squeals.

"Well congratulations" Leonard says and walks away.

"Wait dude, do you not understand what this means?" Raj asks.

"Yeah your the decorating committee for whatever lame party Stuart can afford" Leonard responds.

"Haha, he got you there Rajina" Howard laughs.

"Stuff it, your just upset we finally told you that we're sick of hearing about you being an astronaut" Raj bites back.

"Can you believe these guys, I do something incredibly amazing and they want me to shut up about it because their jealous" Howard responds.

"Look Howard, your right we're all jealous. You did something none of us will ever be able to live up to" Leonard starts.

"See, at least you acknowledge your jealousy and don't try to make me feel bad about a once in a lifetime achievement" Howard says.

"You didn't let me finish ... as amazing as it is, you find some way of working it into every conversation. It gets old, especially after you spent 2 hours putting me down and talking all about it to my girlfriend" Leonard finishes.

"Wow, I really can't believe you guys. Your all just a bunch of jealous bitches!" Howard yells storming away.

Leonard and Raj watch as he walks away.

"That was uncalled for" Raj says.

"Let him blow off some steam, he'll figure it out eventually" Leonard says as he too starts to walk away.

"Wait, you didn't let me tell you the best part" Raj says stopping Leonard.

"Fine, what is it?" Leonard asks.

"I'm paying for the whole party, which includes getting a Tardis!" Raj says enthusiastically.

"Who's idea was the Tardis?" Leonard asks.

"Mine ...but, Sheldon may have pointed out my party would suck without one" Raj admits.

"Well good luck with that" Leonard says.

"Wait aren't you coming?" Raj asks.

"Actually, Alex suggested we go to this Halloween Fundraiser. It sounds like it's going to be a big deal with a few celebrities scheduled to attend, but if there is some time I'll stop by" Leonard says as he walks away.

"Whatever dude, my party is going to be way better!" Raj calls out.

 **In his lab**

*Knock* *Knock*

"Come in" Leonard calls.

"Hey" Penny greets.

"Wow, this is a surprise. Why are you here?" Leonard asks.

"Oh no reason, I just realized I had never seen where you work before" Penny responds.

"Huh ... yeah that is true. So why now?" Leonard says.

"I just wanted to talk" Penny responds.

"About?" Leonard asks.

Penny looks around hoping for something distracting when she notices a box on the table in front of her.

"Hey what's this?" Penny asks as he goes to lift the lid.

Leonard hurries over and stops her.

"Sorry it's just what's inside is a high energy nitrogen laser. If you opened that it would cook your eyeballs in seconds" Leonard warns.

"Oh, high teckieteckie... there should really be a warning sign on it" Penny says awkwardly.

"It's right here" Leonard says pointing out the danger signage on the box.

"Ah, danger ... what's this?" Penny says point to something else.

"Pencil sharpener" Leonard says.

"Oh, low teckieteckie" Penny responds.

"So what are you working on now?" Penny asks.

Leonard moves over to the door and cuts off the lights. He then picks up a pair of googles and hands them to her.

"Here, you might want to put these on" Leonard says as he puts on a pair himself.

"Ahh, for safety" Penny responds.

"Yeah, well when dealing with lab equipment it's better to be safe the sorry. What I'm working on is a laser based tracking device" Leonard tells her.

He then reaches for a pencil which he places in the middle of the device.

"Here I'll demonstrate. Alright, I'll just place this pencil here ..." Leonard starts.

"Sharp, thanks to the machine we saw earlier" Penny jokes.

"Very good" Leonard responds with a smile.

"A laser will map the surface of the pencil and ... voila" Leonard says he flicks a switch.

A holographic image of the pencil appears as it floats above the table. Leonard manipulates the image getting it to do flips and spins and doing imaginary writing.

"Wow, so cool" Penny responds.

"You know there is a foundational idea in string theory that the whole universe maybe just a projection" Leonard says.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Penny asks.

Leonard flicks a second switch and the pencil is replaced with a globe of the earth slowly spinning on it's axis.

"The holographic principle suggests that what we experience every day in three dimensions, may really just be information on a surface at the farthest reaches of our cosmos" Leonard says.

The projection switches to an expand view of the solar system and then further out to a view of the Milky Way galaxy.

"So it's possible that our lives are really acting out a painting on the largest canvas in the universe" Leonard finishes.

"Sometimes ... I forget just how smart and incredible you are" Penny says as she moves to kiss him.

Leonard quickly moves away dodging the kiss.

"What's wrong!?" Penny says in frustration.

"We broke up" Leonard reminds her.

"So?" Penny responds.

"So, I have a girlfriend now and as beautiful and amazing as I believe you are ... I don't want to mess that up with a meaningless hookup" Leonard responds.

"What if it wasn't just meaningless" Penny responds.

"What does that mean?" Leonard asks.

"Look I know I said I wanted to break up, but I didn't mean it" Penny says.

"They why did we break up?" Leonard inquires.

"I don't know, we were in a good place in our relationship and it really was great ..." Penny starts.

"but?" Leonard probes.

"I don't know, didn't you ever feel like there was something missing?" Penny says.

"No, I had an amazing woman whom I loved that I wanted to believe loved me. What more could I want?" Leonard responds.

"I don't know ... it's just really confusing" Penny says.

"What do you want me to do?" Leonard asks.

"I ... I don't know, maybe this was a mistake" Penny says as she leaves.

"DAMNIT!" Leonard shouts in frustration.

 **Later in the cafeteria**

Leonard walks into the cafeteria and sits down next to Howard who's still angry.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Raj asks.

"Penny stopped by the lab today" Leonard shares.

"What did she want?" Howard asks no curious.

"I don't know, I showed her my experiment and then she tried to kiss me" Leonard says.

"What are you telling me you had sex, with Penny, in your lab just now?" Howard responds.

"No, I stopped her before anything could happen?" Leonard says.

"WHAT!?" Raj and Howard explode getting the whole cafeteria to look at them.

Not that that stopped them.

"Dude are you telling us that your gorgeous 5'6 35-24-36 blonde actress ex, stopped by your lab with no one around and wanted to have SEX with you and you turned her down!" Howard explodes.

Now everyone in the area were looking pointedly at Leonard even Sheldon, although he was trying to figure out why everyone was staring.

"She's my ex, hello I have a girlfriend. You met her" Leonard reminds them.

"So, if Penny came up and wanted to have sex with me ... I'd be all like Bernadette who" Howard responds.

"Yeah, I can't believe you turned down hooking up with Penny for some girl who's probably going to ditch you anyway" Raj says.

"What?" Leonard asks hopefully not hearing what he thought he heard.

"Dude, she's here on an internship working with this guy?" Raj explains pointing at Sheldon in the end.

"I'm surprised she's still here" Raj says.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm a great boss. There's string cheese in my fridge and that's for anyone" Sheldon protests.

"Good to know, but back on subject. Once her internship is over, do you really think she's going to stick around?" Raj points out.

"You know what, you guys really SUCK!" Leonard shouts and quickly leaves the cafeteria.

"Wow, can you believe that guy?" Howard says.

"I know, he didn't even stick around to hear about the new developments with the party I'm throwing" Raj responds.

"Yeah he really missed hearing all about the draculoney and cheese sandwiches" Howard snarks.

Raj just ignores him as he continues to think on ideas for the party.

 **Later that day at the apartment**

Leonard and Penny arrive at the same time her going to work and coming home from work. Leonard goes to walk by when she stops.

"Leonard, I want to apologize" Penny starts.

"You don't have to apologize, forget all about it" Leonard tries.

"No, ummm ... I'm running late for work, but I really want to talk about this later" Penny says.

"There's really no need, we're friends right. You go ahead to work and we'll talk some other day" Leonard responds.

"No Leonard, I don't want to come off as demanding but we really should talk. There are some things I was afraid to say earlier, but I'm ready now" Penny says.

"What is it?" Leonard asks curious.

"Later, I'm going to be late if I don't start running" Penny says as she takes off.

'great later, am I supposed to just sit in the apartment in wait ...' Leonard thinks as he heads up the stairs.

 **Later that night**

Penny enters the apartment finding Leonard alone watching television.

"Hey Leonard"

"Hi Penny"

"I thought we could have that talk now" Penny says.

"Okay" Leonard responds.

Penny moves to sit directly beside him, which is when Leonard notices what she's wearing.

"Penny what are you wearing?" Leonard asks.

"Do you like, this is going to be my Halloween costume" Penny says.

"Won't you feel exposed going to the comic book store ... like that?" Leonard asks.

Penny was wearing a black hat on her head, a small black skirt that barely covered anything, and a bikini top that was just two small badges that barely covered her nipples. Needless to say it was a very erotic sight as she moved and posed in front of him also revealing that she wasn't wearing any panties under the skirt.

"So what do you think?" Penny asks as she bends over in front of him swaying a bit exposing her nipples.

"You know what I think, but why are you showing me this and aren't you worried that Sheldon will come in here. You know he has the worse timing and always pops up when you don't want him to?" Leonard asks.

"I'm not worried, because I'm not doing anything Leonard. I am just asking a friend how my costume looks" Penny says as she turns and bends over again and then slowly walks over to sit beside him.

"It feels like your doing a lot more than that" Leonard says as he tries to look away.

Penny leans in closer and gently uses her hands to force him to look at her.

"I want to get back together" Penny tells him.

"I-I-I ... " Leonard stammers.

"I'll take that as a yes" Penny says before moving in for a kiss.

*Mmmmm* *Mmmm*

Leonard moans into the kiss, but then he remember Alex and manages to tear himself away standing up.

"No, I'm not doing this again" Leonard says.

"Doing what again?" Penny asks acting confused as she lays back on the couch exposing her pussy to Leonard.

"This, I'm not doing this again. I'm 32, I want to get married and have kids and a dog maybe two dogs" Leonard says.

"I want that too" Penny says sitting up.

"Okay, but do you want that with me?" Leonard asks seriously as he sits down.

"I don't know ... eventually" Penny answers honestly.

"Eventually, when's that? A year from now, two years, five?" Leonard asks.

"I don't know" Penny responds.

"Look I love you, I have always loved you, but do you love me?" Leonard asks.

"Ummm ... I like you ... a lot" Penny responds lamely.

"That used to be good enough, but it's not anymore. That's why I'm leaving" Leonard tells her.

"The room?" Penny asks confused.

"No, I'm leaving the building. I have a realtor and he found a house for me. It's actually close to where Howard's mother lives" Leonard tells her.

"So your moving ?" Penny says confused.

"Yes" Leonard says.

"YOUR MOVING!?" Penny shouts.

*Bam*

"What's going on?" "Who's shouting?" Sheldon calls out from the floor of his room.

Not wanting Sheldon to see what she's wearing Penny quickly leaves the apartment. A second later Sheldon comes out with is light saber.

"Are we under attack?" He asks Leonard.

"No it was just Penny, calm down" Leonard says.

Sheldon relaxes until a thought comes to him and he walks over and shines the light saber over the coach.

"What are you doing?" Leonard asks.

"Checking to see if you two were having coitus on my couch" Sheldon responds.

"We were not having coitus, we broke up remember" Leonard reminds him.

"I suppose your right, besides I've never heard Penny scream anything when you were having coitus although a couple of times I heard a whimper. I just assumed it was out of disappointment with your performance" Sheldon says.

"Just go back to bed" Leonard tells him.

"Alright, I don't know why your the one that's upset. I'm the one that was woken up out of their sleep" Sheldon says as he leaves the room.

 **2 Day's later in the cafeteria**

"Dude you missed the party and it was totally off the hook" Raj says.

"Yeah sorry, I went to that fundraiser and lost track of time" Leonard says.

"Hey is it true?" Raj asks.

"Is what true?" Sheldon asks.

"Stuart told me Leonard was moving out" Raj responds.

"Leonard is this true?" Sheldon asks.

"It's true, I was going to wait several weeks to tell you when your mother and sister were going to visit" Leonard says giving a pointed look at Raj.

"Hey don't blame me, Penny and Amy were the ones who were telling everyone" Raj defends.

"Hey what are you guys talking about?" Howard asks pulling up a chair.

"Raj just told me I don't have a roommate anymore" Sheldon says.

"Oh so, you know?" Howard responds.

"You knew too?" Sheldon asks.

"Well of course I know. Bernie was shocked, she thought the two of you would live together until the day you died" Howard says.

"Like you and your mother" Leonard mocks.

"Haha, at least I'm married with a woman that loves me" Howard responds.

"Wait ... you said my mom and Missy were coming for thanksgiving?" Sheldon interjects.

"Missy's coming?" Raj asks.

"They want to be there to help you when I broke the news" Leonard responds.

"I'm not a child, if you want to leave than leave it's no skin off my back. Frankly it'll be great to get a new roommate, hopefully they'll be less whiny and needy than you" Sheldon says.

"I don't need to move out right away, I can wait until after Thanksgiving" Leonard tries.

"No, you want to leave than leave. I was doing just fine before you moved into my apartment and I'll do just fine after you leave" Sheldon responds.

"Okay, I'll leave this weekend" Leonard says as he gets up and leaves the cafeteria.

"Wow, I can't believe Leonard's really going to move out" Howard says.

"I know and Penny told Stuart he bought a house close to your mom's" Raj says.

"Yeah Bernie told me. I'll have to ask him later exactly where it is. Maybe we can have a housewarming party " Howard.

"Great I know a great party planner he can book" Raj adds.

"Let me guess ... it's you" Howard mocks.

"Well I'm a little tired after throwing that great bash at Stuarts and a house party is a step backwards, but sure I'll do it" Raj responds.

"A step backwards, what are you launching a new career?" Howard asks jokingly.

"You know I could never give up space, but this is a calling dude. How can I deprive others from the genius that is me" Raj responds.

"Please, I'm trying to enjoy my lunch. If the two of you are going to continue to prattle on about who's moving and who's living where then leave and what party they should have then leave" Sheldon says.

"Fine, now that Leonard is moving out we don't have put up with you any more" Howard says as he leaves.

Raj also leaves, leaving Sheldon alone at the table.

"Finally, now I can enjoy my lunch" Sheldon says.

 **The weekend**

"Alright, sign here, here, and here and your officially released from any obligation held by this agreement" Sheldon says.

Leonard quickly signs the document and hands it to Sheldon.

"I guess that's it" Leonard says.

"It appears so" Sheldon responds.

Leonard had already packed up the belongings he and Sheldon agreed were his ... basically what Sheldon didn't want, which left a great deal of items in the apartment leaving Leonard only needing to pack a few boxes that were in his car.

"Do you want to see my new place, it's not far and I can bring you back" Leonard offers.

"No thanks, I have a perspective renter coming after you leave" Sheldon tells him.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you at work" Leonard says.

"What do you mean? Your still taking me to work are you not?" Sheldon asks.

"As much as I enjoy our car rides together, driving here to pick you up everyday would be out of my way and we'd both be late. I'm sorry, but I'm sure Amy will be glad to drive you" Leonard says.

"You know how much I hate change, I can't have Amy drive me that will cause people to gossip about me" Sheldon responds.

"People know your dating, there's nothing to gossip about seeing a couple drive to work together" Leonard says.

"It's not that, now that your moving out Amy has indicated that ... she wants to move in here ... with me" Sheldon tells him.

"Oh ... I assume your not comfortable with that" Leonard states knowing how he thinks.

"You know I'm not. It's all moving too fast. I'm not ready for that level of intimacy" Sheldon says.

"Well if your not ready just stipulate it in the roommate agreement. She stays in her room and you stay in yours. It'll be like living with a female version of me" Leonard says.

"Please Leonard, you know Amy is far more remarkable than you will ever be. I'm just afraid that if we live together, that I'll give in and we'll both regret what happens afterwards" Sheldon responds.

"Are you afraid you'll see each other in your pajamas's and not be able to control yourselves" Leonard mocks.

"No, there is a clause about that in our relationship agreement. I just think it's too soon to live together and I'm afraid if we do 'it' then there will be no more mystery left in our relationship. Then it'll grow stale and old and we'll be like you and Penny" Sheldon says.

'I'm leaving, and after this I'm done. I'm leaving and after this I'm done' Leonard repeats in his mind.

"I don't know what to tell you Sheldon, your a grown man. Figure it out" Leonard says.

Leonard takes his keys and places them on the table and walks out only to run into Penny.

"Hi Penny" Leonard greets.

"Hey Leonard, so today is the day huh" She says not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah, I'm all packed up. I got to admit, I'm feeling a little sad finally leaving this place" Leonard says.

"I bet, how is Sheldon taking it" She asks.

"Honestly, I'm not sure but it was time to move on to the next phase of my life" Leonard tells her.

"That's very mature of you Leonard, well I'll miss you" Penny says.

She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek and then goes back into her apartment. Leonard watches as she does and then stares at her door for a moment before walking down the steps out of the building. Once outside he takes one last look at the place he'd lived for the past 8 years and then gets into his car driving to his new home.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading my the fourth chapter of this story. I hope you liked it. Next Leonard has a party at his house. Until next time dear reader :-)  
**


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